Comprehensive curriculum and hands-on lab to open
As National Apprenticeship week is upon us, ABC Baltimore is pleased to announce the opening of its updated apprenticeship electrical lab. The facility, located on Ostend St in Baltimore City, has been upgraded to provide electrical apprentices with the highest quality hands-on learning and curriculum available in the state.
Apprenticeship instructors David Boonie, Ernest Wright, and Kyle Zellman led the six-month project of redesigning the electrical lab, the curriculum, and restructuring class time.
“What’s amazing about this is that the instructors re-wrote the whole apprenticeship electrical curriculum for all four years,” said Chris Hadfield ABC Baltimore’s Director of Education and Training.
Zellman, the head electrical lab instructor who spearheaded the project, and his team created a comprehensive packet for each student which contains the hands-on lab curriculum for the whole year. With the year of projects available to them, the students are given the freedom to work at their own pace on whichever project they choose during lab time.
“We want to give the students the most hands-on time possible and for them to use it the best way they see fit,” said Hadfield. “We believe that is the best way our students can master their trade.”
The complete restructuring of the curriculum called for changes in classroom instruction. The 20-person classes, which meet twice a week, are now broken into three 45 minute increments, the first being classroom time with the instructor, the second being hands-on lab time and the third being more time in the classroom.
“They have all of the resources they need available to them including the supervision of the lab instructor,” said Zellman. “Once they get in the lab, they just take their packet and get to work.”
What’s next for ABC’s apprenticeship program? In 2018, ABC Baltimore will be moving its classes to one all-inclusive training facility in Baltimore City, across from the new electrical lab, which will have similar hands-on training labs for all apprenticeship programs including; HVAC/R, plumbing, sprinklerfitting, and carpentry.
To see more photos of the lab, visit here.